Deception
by cloudsandswallows
Summary: "Something like ultimate extraction- the complete theft of information, or an idea, all without the dreamer realising they ever knew it." A little A/A, and a couple of O/C's. OH and one giant plot twist..Rating might change. Thanks
1. You've Got To Fall Apart

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**Hello- Inception is not mine. Post-movie, rating might change. A little A/A so far that you can ignore if you _really _want to.**

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"Cobb. Listen... I know you've just got the children back with you, and I will understand if you choose not to accept this job..." Miles' voices comes through the line crackly and rough.

"Job? Miles, you know I'm out. Is this extraction? Inception? Either way, you know I can't risk it again. I've just got my family back, my kids. I won't lose them."

"I know. Understandable that you're wary. But they're not coming into the dream with you. Chances are you won't even see them." Pause. Dom can imagine Professor Miles' expression as he works to persuade him. "The point is, they're not at risk. You can't harm them. And, well, this is something else. Something different. I hate to drag you away from the children but I need you specifically. You're the best I know, Dom; I wouldn't ask anyone else and I wouldn't ask you otherwise."

"Something different? You've been working on something else?"

Miles sounds pleased. "Yes, just a little something new. And since inception went so well...anyway, you know about extraction, yes? The taking of knowledge. But it's not really _taking_, is it, if the owner still possesses it. They have just shared it- albeit unwillingly. But I've been thinking about ultimate extraction, the actual theft of a piece of information. You take something out of someone's mind and they no longer own it. I wouldn't have considered it possible before, but when I heard about your team's success with the Fischer job... I was hopeful. I've been experimenting, and I think it just might work."

"Hang on." Cobb hesitates. "You want me to test something dangerous, untested and potentially fatal? Because it just might work?"

"I've already stated I understand if you want to leave it. I know you have alot at stake, but really, you know the children are safe! And it's hardly _fatal_, as you put it. If you're planning on retiring... one last job. Go out with a bang." Miles spins. "You can think about it. In the meantime, try and choose your team quickly."

And he's hung up. Dom's apprehensive at the idea of a new job. Wasn't inception big enough a bang to go out on? But even as he persuades himself otherwise, this new idea intriguing and more than a little thrilling. He finds himself calling Arthur.

Dreams aren't something you can easily walk away from.

~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~

Arthur stands on a balcony somewhere in New York with Ariadne. They're sharing a hotel room seeing as, much as he's tried to persuade her otherwise, Ariadne's not continuing her course. She's seen bigger things, _created_ bigger things than this world will ever know, and she can no longer admire the works of real-life architects. This is a source of some dismay to Arthur, who is trying atleast to give her good advice, but she never listens. She's too stubborn, and her mind is too potent, to be suppressed. He glances over at her dark eyes, glinting from the city lights, and flyaway auburn tresses of hair. She smiles at him, but then the moment snaps like thin ice as the phone rings. Arthur, his face a mask of composure, ducks his head through the doorway and picks it up.

"Hello?"

"Arthur." Cobb addresses him quickly. "Miles called me."

Arthur's momentarily puzzled. "Why? What did he say?"

"He has a new job."

"I don't understand; are you in?" Arthur's almost tentative, unwilling to hope Cobb will be joining them.

He sighs. "Yes. You?" He's brisk and businesslike as usual, and there have been less respites from this manner since his latest episode in limbo with Mal.

"I guess. What is it?"

"Something like ultimate extraction- the complete theft of information, or an idea, all without the dreamer realising they ever knew it."

Arthur hesitates. "And this is safe? Miles has tested it?"

"We hope so. Atleast, he seems to think we can do it."

"I'm in if you are." Arthur says. Of course, it's dangerous. it always is. Arthur's used to that. "And Ariadne? Do we need an architect?"

There's a split second's pause before Cobb says, "Yes, of course. Ask her, if she's there."

Arthur wants to explain but before he can realise that the truth is exactly what Dom's assumed, he's passing the phone to Ariadne. "Ask her."

He watches for minutes the one-ended conversation, following her expression through what he identifies as surprise, excitement, unease, and nervousness. Eventually she agrees, flicking her eyes over to Arthur as she chews her lip. She passes the phone back, crossing over to him and giving him a hug.

~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~

A crowded bar in the Middle East. Miles is sitting at a table with Eames and Cobb. Eames looks strangely at home, but he's rolling a red poker chip between two fingers.

"Your totem, Eames?" Miles questions. Eames grins broadly.

"As a matter of fact, yes. I got it from Vegas, rather predictably. Actually, what's yours, Miles? I imagine this is an interesting one."

"Probably not, but it is foolproof. My reading glasses. They're on me at all times, you see, and an intruder in my subconcious can't actually alter my perception. If I were in a dream, they wouldn't affect my sight at all, of if they did it wouldn't be realistic."

"Clever." Eames remarks. Even Cobb smiles.

"Can we get down to business, then, now? How many layers would we need? Sedatives?"

"No, no, it's relatively easy on that front. You could do it in one, but two would be ideal, just for deception's sake."

"And how would this work? I'm assuming we capture the subject, the dreamer, and steal a piece of information. How do we make them forget it?"

"Actually, it's not as simple as all that. We're working with an idea here, and trying to convince them it never existed. It's less to take information without arousing suspicion than to eradicate a thought. In this situation, it's concerning Arthur. You know I'm close to him, and, until recently, his mother also. There was a misunderstanding, somewhere along the line, and she's now convinced her son's a killer."

Cobb vaguely recalls some of these details; Arthur's mother, a stately woman, who must have realised Arthur was never as honest as he used to be.

"We'll need to find her and tap into her subconcious. She'll bring what she thinks of as Arthur into the dream, and we remove that idea the only way we can."

"And how do we do that?" Cobb asks, frustrated. But Eames has already figured it out.

"We kill him."

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**Thanks for reading :) Reviews are always loved. Tell me if the idea is far fetched, anything is inaccurate, or if the story is just plain stupid. I'll be away on holiday for a week or so, so no updates until then, but chapter two is already in progress, and I'll probably have lots of setting inspiration etc by the time I'm back :) I have lots of plot bunnies jumping around in my head..**

**Love :)**


	2. And Put It Back Together Again

As strangely terrifying as the thought is, it makes sense. All the same Cobb doesn't want to be the one who does it. He's killed a fair few in his time, but no one he really knows.

"Of course, the situation is different every time. That's why it takes alot of planning. Of course, the real Arthur won't be harmed, just the projection of Elizabeth's." Miles reassures them. "You'll want to leave him on the first level so that you don't get confused. Not that they're at all alike, really."

~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~

"Cobb, why are you doing this?" Arthur asks, almost shaking. His facade is crumbling.

"It's Miles' idea. Listen. You know this is how it is. We're helping you; we're helping her!" Cobb insists. Why did he have to be the one to relay it to Arthur?

"Just...why can't-" Arthur rubs his eyes, but the tears are beginning to well up. "I'm not okay with this."

"Don't you want to see your parents again? Listen, Arthur. Miles told me that Elizabeth's gone into depression. We can try and make her better again."

"What business is it of Miles'?"

"We're just concerned. You know Elizabeth and Miles were close. And, really, Miles wants to see if this will work. So he can try it on bigger things." Cobb pleads. There's a long silence before Arthur realises there's nothing he can lose.

"Okay." He coughs. "I presume we have a plan?"

~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~

"So Ariadne, you had better do a good job of the first level maze. If Arthur's projection finds Elizabeth and Arthur, we're in trouble. Arthur, you'll be waiting on the first level. But I think it's best if you wait until she's asleep... we move to the second level; Ariadne, you can make this one a little simpler if you like. Arthur's projection finds us eventually, and the first person who sees him..." Cobb trails off. In the warehouse there's a moment of silence.

"How do we find Elizabeth?" Eames asks.

"I'm hoping Arthur can tell us her address. Miles will turn up, be invited in, and we'll go into the dream. On the first level we'll be on a crowded street. Most of us will walk into the crowd, and I'm hoping Arthur can slip away unnoticed. Eames, you think up an excuse to take her somewhere-"

"Hmm. Police? Business associate? Old friend?"

"Alright, so there are four of us on the second level-"

"Are you sure this isn't too high risk?" Arthur says.

"Of course not." Eames grins. "There were six of us last time. It'll be a piece of cake, darling."

"Wait- four?" Arthur says, ignoring Eames. "You, Cobb, Ariadne, and who?"

"Miles, of course."

Arthur opens his mouth but Cobb interrupts.

"Don't worry. He knows what he's doing."

~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~

**I am incredibly sorry this one was so short. I decided to completely change a section of the plot, so everything changed, and it got a bit messy. Tell me if anything doesn't make sense, please! Also review if there was anything you didn't like, or if you have anything you'd particularly like to happen further on. **

**I know the 'convincing Arthur' bit was a little abrupt, but I'm really no good at emotional dialogue... I hope you don't hate me. :) The next chapter will be up very shortly. And it's ALOT better than this one (i think).**

**Thank you for all of the alerts and favourites and things :)**


	3. Demons

**I don't own Inception. Just borrowing. :) **

**Told you it would be up soon. :) So, this time I'm just gonna jump straight in here.**

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Knock, knock.

"Elizabeth?" Miles calls. "Elizabeth, are you there?"

There's no sound from behind the splintering green wood door. Eames rolls his eyes.

"Look, she's not just going to open up. And I doubt the lock works." He whispers. Arthur looks uncomfortable standing by the car on the other side of the road, running a hand over the back of his neck and clutching the silver suitcase.

"Elizabeth?" Miles tries one last time. A beat, and then Cobb rests his hand on the door handle. It opens too quickly. Elizabeth's there. She has dark hair wired with grey and soft, weary eyes. Her expression twists as she sees the group of people on her doorstep.

"Miles? What are you doing here?" She says in a voice that sounds clear although it hasn't been used in a long time. Her eyes scan over Cobb, Eames and Ariadne. "Who are these people?"

"Elizabeth, my dear, I haven't seen you in too long. These are just students and associates of mine... I hope you don't mind that I've brought them along. They'll wait outside if you do. You're looking well, by the way." He adds, smiling.

Elizabeth looks frightened. "Is this about... Arthur? I'm not responsible for him. You can leave."

"No, it's not about him. I just wanted to see how you were. May I come in?"

Elizabeth glances at the others, then ushers Miles in. He shuts the door behind him.

"Why don't we have a seat? I'll make us some tea. What have you been doing these last few years?"

~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~

"Well, that went well," Eames remarks dryly. "How long do you think we'll need?"

"We'll just wait for Miles." Cobb says. "I'll get Arthur."

He walks down the stone pathway and over to the van.

"She's okay?" Arthur asks.

"She's fine." Cobb replies. "We just need Miles to say the word and we'll enter the dream."

Arthur rubs his eyes and walks up to the door again, and it's a good five minutes (in which Arthur is worried and Eames becomes restless) before Miles comes out again with a solemn expression on his face. When they enter Elizabeth is asleep in the dim house, and there are two empty china cups; one on the table and one lying on the floor beside Elizabeth's limp hand.

~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~

A busy street, crammed with people, even on the cobbled roads. Elizabeth Levitt is the only one standing still in the middle of the road. The team have dispersed inconspicuously into the crowd, not hanging around to be noticed. Ariadne is walking at a brisk pace down the street, subtly adjusting sections of buildings. Cobb is already leaning out of a third storey window with something in his hand, poised to throw. Eames waits in one of the busy side alleys, ready to approach Elizabeth.

Then everything stops momentarily.

**BANG.**

Cobb's hurled the bomb into the opposite window. There's a magnificent explosion, the kind you only get in the movies, something that could only happen in a dream. Windows shatter and fragments of glass and brick fly around. Eames strolls towards Elizabeth with a badly suppressed grin, and takes her by the elbow.

"Listen, Elizabeth. This is a dangerous place. I know somewhere safe, and I'll take you there, but you have to listen to me, okay?" He says smoothly.

She snaps her gaze to look at him, and as she does the sunlight flickers. Something swoops down from the sky, dark and menacing. And another. The sky is almost a cacophony of noise and swooping demons.

Miles is at the window talking to Cobb urgently.

"This was a bad idea. To enter an unstable mind, full of personal demons..."

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**...ooh. Sorry I left you on that. I had to do it. :)**

**Oh and also I just noticed that on the 'inbox' page, right after it says personal messages it says 'pms'? (sorry.)**

**Reviews are always loved, whether they're constructive criticism or an idea :)**


	4. Sheets of Paper

**Inception is not mine, just borrowing :)**

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"...I'm sorry I led you into this. We should leave." Miles shakes his head.

"No." Cobb says. "We've come this far. Anyway, this will be like research... we might need this."

Miles takes a breath. "I suppose you're right. If you're sure, Dom, if you're absolutely sure about this."

"Look, Miles. You convinced me to do this. I'm not going to back out now."

~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~

"Ariadne! Over here!" Arthur shouts frantically. She runs over, ducking her head and holding her ears.

"What are they?" She shouts back.

When she reaches him he grabs her carefully by the waist and pulls her into a nearby basement, the doorway magically appearing as they approach. It's dusty inside, with no light but the sun filtering in through the surface, and a few crates of supplies.

"I would assume they're projections of a sort, but not of people, of her demons. I don't know, because everyone has demons, and we've never encountered them before." Arthur stresses, wrinkling his brow.

"Then maybe it's something to do with her mind in particular. Professor- I mean, Miles said she had depression, maybe they've... manifested?" Ariadne says uncertainly, staring at Arthur.

"Yes, you're probably right." Arthur says, allowing a small smile at her 'professor'. "Anyway, I don't know what we do with them. Eames, no doubt, will be up for shooting them out of the sky, but that will most likely do more harm than good." He sighs. "How do we even get around them? I need to talk to Cobb."

"Come on. We don't know what they can do yet. Now's as good a time as any- the crowd will distract them."

~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~

Eames spins around, lifting his gun. _You musn't be afraid to dream a little..._ his train of thought is cut off by Arthur yanking him by the arm into the crowd.

"Come on, we have to get Cobb." He says roughly.

"Well, thank you for saving me there, sweetheart. What happens now?" Eames says. Ariadne flicks a glance at him before pulling him along after Arthur, who is now almost running through the throng of panicking projections. The crowd seems to be thinning. Ariadne realises this is because the demons have been swooping down like reapers, silently picking off groups of people, reducing them to misshapen clouds of smoke before disappearing.

"They'll kill us!" She screams ahead to Arthur, as if she didn't know it was coming. "They're killing the projections!"

Eames takes her by the hand, looking around. "Well, I don't know about that." He says breathlessly. "But it won't be nice all the same."

~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~

"Where's Elizabeth?" Cobb asks as they burst through the door. Miles is locking the windows. Arthur turns white and runs out again, Cobb by unspoken consent following him.

"What do we do now?" Ariadne asks.

"We go on. We'll try and finish the job. Reinforce the building the best you can, Ariadne." Miles says. A moment later Arthur and Cobb are back, carrying with them a pale but relatively unharmed Elizabeth. The expression on Arthur's face is hard to describe. Ariadne goes up to him, smoothing hands over his face, and he looks at her.

"We haven't got a moment to lose," Cobb reminds them. "Ariadne, we'll give you a few more seconds to reinforce the building, then you have to come with us." Then he leans back in a worn chaise and closes his eyes. As Ariadne rolls her sleeve up and finds the IV, bars are going up around the windows and the whole building shifts as the foundations of the building take different shapes.

"Good luck Arthur," She says quickly before she drifts off into a different world.

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**That wasn't very long either, so I apologise, but we're getting to the important stuff :)**

**Thank you for all the reviews/alerts/favourites. Please tell me if there was anything you didn't like, any ideas, improvements, anything :) Thanks 3**


	5. Confusion

**I am so sorry I haven't posted a chapter in so long; the whole of fanfiction has been somewhere in the middle of my mind. Oh and also I changed my penname. ****Anyway. Second level.**

* * *

They wait in a place suspiciously similar to the warehouse, waiting. Elizabeth is unconscious again, limp in a white plastic chair.

"Thought it was best." Cobb says briskly.

"So now we just wait." Eames states. Cobb nods absentmindedly, flicking a pen on and off while he watches a top spin endlessly.

~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~

The projections, or atleast what's left of them, are suspicious. Arthur knows this because he can hear them banging on the steel front door. He glances at the group of bodies lying around. They should be safe; that is, unless the projections* arm themselves. Which could be likely. Just in case, he pushes a heavy chaise up against the door, and jams a small coffee table in the handles. As soon as that's done, he snatches up the gun and sits quietly. They've gotten in. Arthur looks at the bodies. They're on the second-to-top floor, in one of the most expensive rooms in the hotel. Arthur seems to be spending alot of his dream time in hotels lately. He's glad he doesn't have to create a kick this time. It's getting dangerous, the projections rushing up the stairs. They check doors along the way. Arthur realises they'll know he's in here as soon as they try the door and find it won't open smoothly, but he can't hide the bodies. They come closer.

Minutes. He has minutes.

Arthur makes a decision that's probably dangerous and definitely rash. He picks up another IV, as quietly as he can, and sinks it into his arm, as he's done many times before.

~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~

Ariadne stands up. "I'm sorry, Cobb, I can't wait in here any more. Can I get some fresh air?"

Cobb nods, perhaps because he can feel the stifling tension in the warehouse aswell. She steps out, feeling slightly relieved but then nervous of the 'people' around her. It's a bright morning, and a busy street, and a couple of them turn to her but then look away, and nothing more happens. She turns briskly before it happens again, and walks down an alley. It's thin and shadowy but the walls are solid, tall brick wall. No one could be hiding, waiting to ambush her. On the other side she finds herself in a small square. There's a beautiful, intricate fountain, made of marble mermaids and men. The buildings are ornately decorated with trompe l'oeil. It all looks very old and reminds her of Genoa, in Italy, where she went on vacation once with some people from school. She scans the square. It's bustling; stallholders selling paintings, and fruit, and souvenirs. Everyone is either buying, or selling, or taking pictures. Thankfully not of her.

But her eyes land on someone who isn't doing any of those things. It's Arthur. Or is it? She's tempted to make a break for it, just go back to the warehouse and get Cobb out here instead. But she knows he'll be gone by then. She digs in her back pocket and brings out a pistol. Her hand trembles violently. But she never really raises it.

"No, come on." She coaxes herself. Projections are starting to look at her. But most are absorbed in whatever they're doing in this fake place. Now is the time to act, and act fast. Make a decision. Do it.

Her hand shakes so much that it veers off course. She'll end up shooting a mermaid at the rate she's going. "A-Arthur?" She says, quietly.

His head snaps towards her. She's startled, and she drops the pistol. So much for that. He runs towards her, shouting.

"No, Ariadne, I didn't-"

She's already gone, speeding down an alley.

~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~

It couldn't have been him. And yet... what had he been saying? Protesting. Against what? She hadn't stuck around to find out. Why would Arthur, real Arthur, come into the dream? He wouldn't, unless they'd been in real trouble. But she'd barred the windows. The door was thick steel, and the walls were atleast a foot thick, concrete. No projections could have gotten in, even if they were militarised.

Her feet keep hitting the pavement painfully. Cobbled streets. She keeps thinking.

He had looked so like her Arthur. He was even wearing the same clothes he'd put on that morning, in their Parisian apartment, before the flight to Elizabeth's. But, she supposed... and he _had _been holding a gun. Hoping to kill her? Hoping to kill one of the team? By the time she reaches the warehouse she's out of breath, she's panicking, in fits of sobbing and trying to explain and heaving, ragged breaths. Cobb doesn't know what to do, rushing over to her and asking, "Are you okay? What happened? Did you see Arthur- the projection?" He seems to think she's mentally unstable as she starts to break down even more. What if she _had _killed Arthur?

But then Eames comes over, placing a hand on her lower back. He asks her smoothly if he can get her a cup of water. She doesn't understand completely, knowing there's no way there's clean water in this abandoned warehouse, but she says okay and allows him to sit her down. She's out before she knows it.

~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~a~

**So yes. Sorry I didn't update in so long! You have my sincerest apologies. I promise to try and do better, but I'm back at school and it might be a little difficult to find time.**

*So I was on the inception kink meme (place is not good for my brain) and I saw someone mentioning how funny it would be if the team were referring to the projections as the 'pro-pro', a la kesha, tik tok. And. I had to stop myself from writing it. :D

**I know I put a second aside in there but I just can't remember where it was, and now I don't remember what I meant to say. If you know where it is please tell me? Thanks.

Ciao, bellas 3


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